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YouTuber sues B.C. conservation officer, government over alleged profit losses
By The Canadian Press
Published: March 13, 2025 at 9:37AM EDT
VANCOUVER — A YouTube hunting personality is suing British Columbia’s Conservation Officer Service alleging one of its officers defamed and targeted him in a “malicious, obsessive and compulsive fashion,” allegedly causing him to lose sponsorship deals.
The B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit says it started in May 2020, when Michel Beaulieu gave a hunting tag to his wife who killed a black bear in the province, believing the “prerequisite tag” could be shared.
The lawsuit says conservation officer Wyatt Pile charged the couple with hunting without proper tags and both pleaded guilty and were fined and given a one-year suspension of their hunting licences in B.C.
Following the hunting incident, the lawsuit alleges Pile “seemed obsessed” and began targeting him in “all aspects of his life,” including reaching out to his sponsors and telling them Beaulieu “was a poacher.”
The lawsuit says that in September 2024, Pile attempted to get “unlawful” and “unwarranted” access to Beaulieu’s home by making “false statements” to Beaulieu’s Realtor and posing as a potential buyer for their property.
The allegations have not been tested in court and the Ministry of Environment, which oversees the conservation service, declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.
The lawsuit alleges that the alleged defamation caused sponsors to cut business ties with Beaulieu, and his YouTube channel to be shut down, while he faced public derision with people calling him “a poacher.”
The lawsuit alleges that Beaulieu suffered financial losses of at least $150,000 due to his YouTube channel closing, and cancellation of internet sponsorship deals worth $120,000.
Beaulieu, and his company Carnivore Studios Inc., also allege they lost money on a “forced urgent sale” of a property “to avoid malicious and unwarranted prosecution.”
This report by Nono Shen, The Canadian Press, was first published March 12, 2025.
Hmmm, although he broke the law, he was fined and penalized. Should be the end of it. The CO that took this to the next level (illegally I might add) should be fired, and the Govt pay the bill.
Hmmm, although he broke the law, he was fined and penalized. Should be the end of it. The CO that took this to the next level (illegally I might add) should be fired, and the Govt pay the bill.
I agree with firing the CO, but the claims that the CO caused the financial losses is a stretch. Hunters as a group are independent thinkers and make up their minds as to what content they support and want to consume. I don't know any hunters that would want to watch a hunting show where the host was a known poacher.
Three sides to every story as usual and we will see how it shakes out.
I must say though, the bear tag sharing is BS. Any hunter knows tags are for the individual with their name on the tag. Feigning ignorance on this matter, especially by a seasoned hunter, is a crock of shit.
This is civil court, anyone can sue for anything and say whatever they want as the grounds for suit, it does not make it true. I would be surprised if the “defamation” claims hold up, even if the CO did contact the sponsors in order for it to be defamation the information they provided would have had to have been demonstrably false.
They were caught poaching, plead guilty, and were sentenced according to law. Any other attempt to punish the poachers is vigilantism. The CO sounds like a nutjob and should most likely be fired.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
They were facing far more and worse charges than sharing a bear tag, sounds like the CO was doing some undercover work...which seemed to uncover a lot more broken laws and greasiness. Fine by me!
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Originally Posted by .330 Dakota
